On this day in history, the 16th July 1557 (some sources say the 15th), Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves died at her home, Chelsea Old Manor, the former home of Catherine Parr. She was only 41 but she was the last surviving wife of Henry VIII and on the 3rd August 1557 Anne was taken from Chelsea to Westminster to be buried. She is the only one of Henry VIII’s wives to be buried at Westminster Abbey and her tomb is on the south side of the High Altar. It is decorated with carvings of a crown and her initials, AC, skulls and crossed bones, and a lion’s head. It is a sad fact that Anne, as Elizabeth Norton points out, “is often portrayed as the least significant of Henry’s wives” but that she was actually “an international figure of some prominence” and a woman who used her intelligence to survive the English court and become an independent woman. Just like Catherine of Aragon, she did not accept the annulment of her marriage and still thought of herself as Henry’s wife and Queen, and subsequently his widow, but she made the best out of the situation. [x]
There is no doubt that the prince’s affections were deeply engaged. Froissart and Chandos Herald, both contemporaries who knew the prince and Joan personally, record the prince’s great love for Joan, the latter succinctly stating that ‘he loved her greatly’. His fondness for his cousin was long-standing, as is evident from the gift noted in his accounts in 1348 where she is described in affectionate terms as ‘Jeanette’, and the strength of his love is evident from the letter he wrote to her in 1367 after six years of marriage, addressing her as ‘my dearest and truest sweetheart and well beloved companion’.
Philippa of Hainault was born in Valenciennes, in the Low Countries, on the 24th of June, most likely 1314-1315. She was the second daughter of William the Good, graaf van Hainaut (modern Belgium) and Holland, and her mother, Jeanne de Valois, was the granddaughter of King Philip III of France. She spent her early years at her father’s court, renowned for its culture. At a young age she found learning appealing and was an enthusiastic reader.
She was married to Edward III in October 1327, nine months after he ascended the English throne. Philippa accompanied him on his expeditions to Scotland and sometimes to France during The Hundreds Years’ War. At times she ruled as regent when he went off to fight. She raised twelve children, including five sons who were renowned warriors and three who were also intellectuals, and daughters who were reputedly well educated and beautiful. The queen provided a necessary contrast to Edward, a great king, but one whose impulsiveness and tendency towards violence and vengefulness needed her calm, rational influence.
Philippa was a kind and generous woman, highly intelligent and a competent administrator, with an impeccable pedigree (four of her great-grandfathers were kings), she appears in some ways the ideal queen. She won universal respect for her gentleness, compassion and her patronage making her a popular queen, something that she used to help maintain peace in England and elsewhere.